Method and device for connecting computers

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer-implemented method for connecting a first computer (2) and a second computer (3) by means of a first communication connection (4) and / or a second communication connection (5), the first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) enabling the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) to be connected, the first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) each have at least a first connection characteristic (11), at least one application (20) being executed on the first computer (2), the first application (20) having at least two application variants (21, 22) having different requirements for the first connection characteristic (11), the application variants (21, 22) having a priority sequence (40), the method involves the following steps: a) selecting (7) an application variant (21, 22) having the highest priority (41); the method comprises the following steps: a) selecting an application variant (21, 22), b) checking (8) whether the requirement of the selected application variant (21, 22) is met by any one of the communication connections (4, 5), c) if the requirement of the selected application variant (21, 22) is not met by any one of the communication connections (4, 5), selecting (9) an application variant (21, 22) with a second priority (42), and repeating the method from step b), c) if the requirement of the selected application variant (21, 22) is not met by any one of the communication connections (4, 5). D) connecting (10) the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) by means of the first communication connection (4) and / or the second communication connection (5) in such a way that the required requirements of the selected application variants (21, 22) for the first connection characteristic (11) are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for connecting a first computer and a second computer.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a connection device for performing the method according to the invention.

[0003] The present invention also relates to a system for performing the method according to the invention. Background Technology

[0004] The means for selecting a communication connection is known from WO 00 / 22788 A1.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a method that improves the selection of communication connections. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This objective is achieved by a computer implementation method for connecting a first computer and a second computer via a first communication connection and / or a second communication connection, wherein the first and second communication connections enable the connection between the first and second computers, and each of the first and second communication connections has at least one first connection feature, at least one application is executed on the first computer, and the first application has at least two application variants with different requirements for the first connection features, and the application variants have a priority order. The method comprises the following steps: a) Select the application variant with the highest priority; b) Check whether the requirements of the selected application variant are met by one of the communication connections; c) If the requirements of the selected application variant are not met by the communication connection, then select the application variant with the second lowest priority, and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect the first computer and the second computer via a first communication connection and / or a second communication connection such that the required features of the selected application variant for the first connection feature are met.

[0007] The choice of which communication connection to establish between the first and second computers depends on the application's requirements. The application provides at least two variations with different requirements. For the first variation, the application variation might be, for example, a minimal run, and for the second variation, it might be, for example, an optimal run. The variation has a priority order; for example, the optimal run might have a higher priority than the minimal run. Therefore, it is preferable to establish a connection suitable for the optimal run. If the requirements of the optimal run cannot be met, then a connection suitable for the minimal run is established.

[0008] Depending on the category, the application variant may have minimum or maximum requirements for connectivity characteristics. Therefore, the connectivity characteristics of the communication connection should be greater than or equal to the minimum value and less than or equal to the maximum value.

[0009] Priorities can be explicitly or implicitly specified as required. For example, application variants with more stringent requirements, particularly higher bandwidth and / or lower latency, can be assumed to have higher priority than those with lower requirements. Alternatively, application variants with lower costs can be assumed to have higher priority than those with higher costs. If priorities are the same, the order can be determined randomly or based on other parameters. Priorities can be calculated using mathematical functions based on requirements, particularly some of the requirements, and especially cost requirements.

[0010] A communication connection can be, for example, an access line to the Internet. A connection between a first computer and a second computer is then established via the access line and the Internet. Such an access line can use different technologies, such as copper cables, fiber optic cables, or mobile communications, and therefore have different connection characteristics. Even using the same technology, different connection characteristics may exist, for example, due to different providers or different limitations offered by the same provider. Therefore, the first communication connection and the second communication connection can also be different offerings from the same provider for the same line.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the first communication connection and the second communication connection have different connection characteristics. The method then uses a communication connection suitable for the connection requirements of the application variant.

[0012] Needless to say, this method can be extended to any number of additional communication connections.

[0013] Preferably, the first connectivity feature comes from one of the following categories: - Delay, - Shaking, - Bandwidth, - Availability, and - cost.

[0014] Latency is typically specified as round-trip time in milliseconds (ms). Jitter describes the range of latency fluctuations in milliseconds (ms) and is also known as packet latency variation. Bandwidth is typically measured in megabits per second (Mbit / s). Availability is typically expressed as a percentage. Cost is typically given in euros per second (EUR / s) or euros per gigabyte (EUR / GB). Depending on the category, connectivity requirements can be minimum or maximum. For example, bandwidth requirements are typically minimum, while latency requirements are typically maximum.

[0015] If several methods exist that meet the requirements, choose the most cost-effective option.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the first connection characteristic is determined automatically. This can be achieved by sending test messages via the communication connection, particularly for categories such as latency, jitter, and bandwidth. For other categories, such as availability and cost, it is preferable that the connection characteristics are known in advance. Needless to say, the connection characteristics for categories such as latency, jitter, and bandwidth can also be known in advance.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the first and second communication connections each have at least two connection characteristics, and at least one application variant has at least two requirements for different connection characteristics. By considering several connection characteristics, the selection of communication connections becomes more suitable for the application requirements.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, at least one second application is executed on a first computer. This second application has at least one application variant that requires a first connection characteristic. The requirements of the second application are combined with the requirements of the application variant of the first application to form a combined application variant with priority and requirements for the first connection characteristic. Steps a) to d) are performed for this combined application variant. By taking into account the requirements of the second application, a communication connection is appropriately selected such that the requirements of both applications are satisfied.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment, the second application has at least two application variants that require the first connection characteristic. The requirements of the application variants of the second application are combined with the requirements of the application variants of the first application to form a combined application variant with priority and requirements for the first connection characteristic. Steps a) to d) are performed for this combined application variant. For two or more applications with multiple application variants, all possible combinations of application variants are considered and sorted in priority. For combinations of application variants, the communication connection is then checked in priority order to see if it can meet the requirements. This ensures that a suitable communication connection is selected for both applications.

[0020] Preferably, the priority of the combined application variants is calculated based on the priority of the application variants of the second application and the priority of the application variants of the first application. For example, the priority can be calculated by adding the individual priorities together. For example, the four application variants of the first application can have priorities 9, 6, 3, and 0, and the three application variants of the second application can have priorities 8, 6, and 0. For the combined application variants, the priorities are therefore 9+8, 9+6, 6+8, 6+6, 3+8, 3+6, 9+0, 0+8, 0+6, 6+0, 3+0, and 0+0. In the case of equal priorities, the priority order can depend on other parameters such as the priority of the application, or it can be set randomly. Needless to say, other calculations are possible. For example, priorities can be multiplied. In addition to the priority of the application variants, the priority of the application can also be included in the calculation.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the combined communication connection uses a first communication connection and a second communication connection, and the connection characteristics of the combined communication connection are calculated based on the connection characteristics of the first communication connection and the second communication connection. The combined communication connection is processed in the same way as the first communication connection or the second communication connection in this method.

[0022] The calculation method for the connection characteristics of a combined communication connection can vary depending on the category. For example, the bandwidth of the combined communication connection can be calculated by adding the bandwidth of the first communication connection and the bandwidth of the second communication connection. When a combined communication connection is used simultaneously with the first and / or second communication connection, it should be noted that the possible bandwidth of the combined communication connection will reduce the bandwidth allocated to applications on the first and / or second communication connections. For example, the delay of the combined communication connection can be determined by determining the maximum value of the delay of the first and second communication connections. If necessary, the delay of the combined communication connection can be calculated by adding a predetermined value to the maximum value. This predetermined value takes into account the fact that data sent via the combined communication connection must be split for transmission via the first and second communication connections and must be reassembled at the other end. For example, availability can be calculated by multiplying the availability of the first communication connection by the availability of the second communication connection.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, a third application z is executed on a second computer. This third application z has at least two application variants with different requirements for the first connectivity feature. The requirements of the application variants of the third application are combined with the requirements of the application variants of the first application to form a combined application variant with priority and connectivity requirements. Steps a) to d) are performed for this combined application variant.

[0024] The requirements of the third application on the second computer are handled in the same way as the requirements of the second application on the first computer. By taking into account the requirements of the third application on the second computer, the requirements of both sides of the connection are taken into account.

[0025] The present invention relates to a connection device for connecting a first computer and a second computer via a first communication connection and / or a second communication connection, wherein the connection device is connected to the first communication connection and the second communication connection, the connection device is provided and configured to receive at least one corresponding first connection feature of the communication connection and requests for the first connection feature from at least two application variants of a first application in a priority order, and the connection device is provided and configured to perform the following steps: a) Select the application variant with the highest priority. b) Check whether the requirements of the selected application variant are met by one of the communication connections. c) If the requirements of the selected application variant are not met by the communication connection, then select the application variant with the second lowest priority, and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect the first computer and the second computer via a first communication connection and / or a second communication connection such that the required features of the selected application variant for the first connection feature are met.

[0026] Therefore, the connection device enables a connection between the first computer and the second computer that meets the requirements of the first application. The connection device can be designed, for example, as a router, and configured to be installed between the first computer and the two communication connections. Alternatively, the connection device can also be part of the first computer. It goes without saying that the connection device can preferably implement a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention.

[0027] The present invention also relates to a system comprising a first computer, a second computer, a first communication connection, a second communication connection, and a connection device, wherein the first computer and the second computer can be connected to each other via the communication connection, the connection device is provided and configured to establish a connection between the first computer and the second computer via the first communication connection and / or the second communication connection, the first communication connection and the second communication connection each having at least one first connection feature, the first computer is provided and configured to execute at least one application, the first application having at least two application variants with different requirements for the first connection feature, the application variants having a priority order, and the connection device is provided and configured to perform the following steps: a) Select the application variant with the highest priority. b) Check whether the requirements of the selected application variant are met by one of the communication connections. c) If the requirements of the selected application variant are not met by the communication connection, then select the application variant with the second lowest priority, and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect the first computer and the second computer via a first communication connection and / or a second communication connection such that the required features of the selected application variant for the first connection feature are met.

[0028] It goes without saying that there may not be a solution for all possible lines and requirements.

[0029] The following description of preferred embodiments is provided to illustrate the invention in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0030] In the attached diagram: Figure 1 A schematic representation of the system according to the present invention is shown; Figure 2 A flowchart of the method according to the present invention is shown; Figure 3 Further illustrative representations of the system according to the invention are shown; Figure 4 It shows Figure 3 The connection characteristics of the communication connection in the middle; and Figure 5 It shows Figure 3 Requirements for applications in [the application]. Detailed Implementation

[0031] In all exemplary embodiments, elements that are the same or have equivalent functions are represented by the same reference numerals.

[0032] Figure 1A schematic representation of a system 1 according to the present invention is shown. System 1 includes a first computer 2, a second computer 3, a first communication connection 4, a second communication connection 5, and a connection device 6. In this example, the connection device 6 is directly connected to the first computer 2 and connected to the second computer 3 via the first communication connection 4 and the second communication connection 5. The connection device 6 is provided and configured to connect the first computer 2 to the second computer 3 via the first communication connection 4 and / or the second communication connection 5. The first communication connection 4 and the second communication connection 5 each have a first connection characteristic 11, which is bandwidth. The first communication connection 4 has a bandwidth of 20 Mbit / s, and the second communication connection 5 has a bandwidth of 30 Mbit / s. A first application 20 is executed on the first computer 2. The first application 20 has a first application variant 21 and a second application variant 22. The application variants 21 and 22 have a priority order 40. The first application variant 21, having a value of 0, has a lower priority 42 than the second application variant 22, having a value of 1. Therefore, the second application variant 22 has the highest priority 41. The application variants have different requirements 24 for the first connection characteristic 11 of the communication connections 4 and 5. The first application variant 21 requires a communication connection bandwidth of 25 Mbit / s. The second application variant 22 requires a communication connection bandwidth of 100 Mbit / s.

[0033] The following is combined Figure 2 The functional principle of the connecting device 6 is shown. Figure 2 A flowchart of the method according to the present invention is shown. In the first step 7, the application variant with the highest priority is selected. Figure 1 In the example, the connection device 6 selects the second application variant 22 of the first application 20 because the priority 40 of the second application variant is higher than that of the first application variant 21. In the second step 8, it is checked whether the requirement 24 of the selected application variant 22 is satisfied by one of the communication connections 4 and 5. Figure 1 In the example, requirement 26 is a bandwidth of 100 Mbit / s. This requirement is not met by either the first communication connection 4 or the second communication connection 5. Even a connection via both communication connections cannot meet this requirement. Therefore, in the third step 9, the application variant with the second lowest priority is selected. Figure 1 In the example, the first application variant 21 is selected. The method is then repeated, and starting from step 8, it is checked whether requirement 24 of the selected application variant 21 is satisfied by one of the communication connections 4 and 5. Figure 1In the example, requirement 25 of the first application variant 21 is a bandwidth of 25 Mbit / s. The first communication connection 4 does not meet requirement 25. The second communication connection 5 meets requirement 25. Therefore, the third step 9 is skipped, and in the fourth step 10, the first computer 2 and the second computer 3 are connected via the second communication connection 5. Thus, computers 2 and 3 are connected via communication connection 5, which meets requirement 25 of the selected application variant 21. Since the connection device 6 is separated from the first computer 2 here, the connection device 6 informs the first computer 2 about the characteristics of the communication connection via which a connection to the second computer is established.

[0034] Figure 3 A further illustrative representation of system 1 according to the invention is shown. The following description only refers to... Figure 1 The differences are as follows. In this example, in addition to the first application 20 having a first application variant 21 and a second application variant 22, a second application 30 having a first application variant 31 and a second application variant 32 is also executed on the first computer 2. A third application 35 having a first application variant 36 and a second application variant 37 is executed on the second computer 30. The connection device 6 is connected to the Internet 71 via a first communication connection 4, a second communication connection 5, and a third communication connection 70. The second computer 3 is connected to the Internet via a fourth communication connection 72. The connection device 6 can connect the first computer 2 to the Internet 71 via the first communication connection, the second communication connection, and / or the third communication connection, and thus to the second computer 3.

[0035] Figure 4 It shows Figure 3 The connection characteristics of the first, second, and third communication connections are described. Five connection characteristics are considered for these three communication connections. The first connection characteristic 11 is bandwidth. The value of the first connection characteristic 11 for the first communication connection 4 is 25 Mbit / s. The value of the first connection characteristic 11 for the second communication connection 5 is 100 Mbit / s, and the value of the first connection characteristic 11 for the third communication connection 70 is 50 Mbit / s. In this example, the bandwidth of each communication connection is determined by speed testing of each communication connection using the connection device 6.

[0036] The second connection characteristic 12 is latency. The value of the second connection characteristic 12 for the first communication connection 4 is 30 ms. The value of the second connection characteristic 12 for the second communication connection 5 is 70 ms, and the value of the second connection characteristic 12 for the third communication connection 70 is 50 ms. If multiple communication connections are used together as a combined communication connection in application variants, it should be noted that latency may increase due to data distribution and merging.

[0037] The third connection characteristic 13 is jitter. The value of the third connection characteristic 13 for the first communication connection 4 is 3 ms. The value of the third connection characteristic 13 for the second communication connection 5 is 5 ms, and the value of the third connection characteristic 13 for the third communication connection 70 is 5 ms. In this example, the delay and jitter of each communication connection are determined by the connection device 6 using a known "ping" test that measures the round-trip time of communication data packets.

[0038] The fourth connection characteristic 14 is availability. The value of the fourth connection characteristic 14 of the first communication connection 4 is 99.8%. The value of the fourth connection characteristic 14 of the second communication connection 5 is 99.99%, and the value of the fourth connection characteristic 14 of the third communication connection 70 is 99.9%.

[0039] The fifth connection characteristic 15 is cost. The value of the fifth connection characteristic 11 for the first communication connection 4 is €0.20 / GB. The value of the fifth connection characteristic 15 for the second communication connection 5 is €1.00 / GB, and the value of the fifth connection characteristic 15 for the third communication connection 70 is €0.50 / GB. In this example, the availability and cost of each communication connection are values ​​specified by the provider of each communication connection.

[0040] Figure 5 It shows Figure 3 The application requirements are as follows. A first application variant 21 of the first application 20 requires a bandwidth of at least 20 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11 and a latency of at most 60 ms for the second connection feature 12. A second application variant 22 of the first application 20 requires a bandwidth of at least 100 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11 and a latency of at most 30 ms for the second connection feature 12. The second application variant 22 has a priority value of 2, and therefore a higher priority than the first application variant, which has a priority value of 0.

[0041] The first application variant 31 of the second application 30 requires a bandwidth of at least 25 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11, and the second application variant 32 requires a bandwidth of at least 50 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11. The second application variant 32 has a priority value of 3, and therefore a higher priority than the first application variant which has a priority value of 0.

[0042] The first application variant 36 of the third application 35 requires a bandwidth of at least 3 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11 and a cost of at most €0.50 / s for the fifth connection feature 15. The second application variant 37 of the third application 35 requires a bandwidth of at least 30 Mbit / s for the first connection feature 11 and a cost of at most €0.20 / s for the fifth connection feature 15. The second application variant 22 has a priority value of 1, and therefore a higher priority than the first application variant, which has a priority value of 0.

[0043] Needless to say, these requirements are examples, and variations may also require third and fourth connection properties.

[0044] For the three applications 20, 30, and 35, each application has two application variants, resulting in eight possible combinations of application variants. In step 7 of the first step, the combination of application variants with the highest priority is selected. Figure 5 In the example, this is a combination of the second application variant 22 of the first application 22, the second application variant 32 of the second application 30, and the second application variant 37 of the third application 35. The priority of this combination is the sum of the priorities of the individual application variants and has a value of 6.

[0045] In step 8, it is checked whether the requirements of the combination of application variants are met by the connection characteristics of the communication connection. These requirements cannot be met by... Figure 3 The connectivity characteristics of the communication connection shown are satisfied because the second application variant 37 of the third application 35 cannot meet the requirements of a cost of up to 0.20 euros / GB and a bandwidth of at least 30 Mbit / s by a single communication connection or by combination.

[0046] In step 9 of the third step, a combination of application variants with the second lowest priority is selected. In this example, this is a combination of the second application variant 22 of the first application 22, the second application variant 32 of the second application 30, and the first application variant 36 of the third application 35. The priority of this combination is the sum of the priorities of the individual application variants and has a value of 5.

[0047] In step 8, it is checked whether the requirements of the combination of application variants are met by the connection characteristics of the communication connection. These requirements cannot be met by... Figure 3 The connection characteristics of the communication connection shown are satisfied because the requirements of the second application variant 32 of the first application 35 for a bandwidth of at least 100 Mbit / s and a latency of at most 30 ms cannot be met by a single communication connection or by combination.

[0048] In step 9 of the third step, a combination of application variants with the second lowest priority is selected. In this example, there are two combinations with the same priority. On one hand, there is a combination of the second application variant 22 of the first application 22, the first application variant 31 of the second application 30, and the second application variant 37 of the third application 35. On the other hand, there is a combination of the first application variant 21 of the first application 22, the second application variant 32 of the second application 30, and the first application variant 36 of the third application 35. Both combinations have a priority value of 3. One of these combinations is randomly selected, and the other combination is tested in the next iteration if necessary. In this example, the combination of the first application variant 21 of the first application 22, the second application variant 32 of the second application 30, and the first application variant 36 of the third application 35 is examined first.

[0049] In step 8 of the second step, it is checked whether the requirements of the combination of application variants are satisfied by the connection characteristics of the communication connection. In this example, there exists... Figure 3 The diagram illustrates different possibilities for the connection characteristics of the communication connections to meet the requirements. The first possibility is to connect the second application variant 32 of the second application 30 via the second communication connection 5, and the first application variant 26 of the third application 35 via the third communication connection 70, and the first application variant 21 of the first application 20 via the first communication connection 4. The second possibility is to connect the second application variant 32 of the second application 30 via the second communication connection 5, and the first application variant 26 of the third application 35 via the first communication connection 4, and the first application variant 21 of the first application 20 via the first communication connection 4. The second possibility results in lower costs, and therefore the second possibility is chosen.

[0050] Because the requirements of the application variant are met, the connection device 6 connects the first computer 2 and the second computer 3 via the first communication connection 4 and the second communication connection 5 in the fourth step.

[0051] List of reference numerals 1 System 2 First Computer 3 Second Computer 4 First Communication Connection 5 Second communication connection 6. Connecting device 7. First step a) 8. Step 2b) 9. Step 3 (c) 10. Step 4 (d) 11 First Connection Characteristics 12 Second Connection Characteristics 13 Third Connection Characteristics 14. Fourth Connection Feature 15. Fifth Connection Feature 20 First Application 21 First application of the first application variant 22 Second application variant of the first application 24 Requirements for the first application 25 Requirements for the first application variant of the first application 26 Requirements for the second application variant of the first application 30 Second Application 31. Second application of the first application variant 32. Second application of the first application variant 33 Requirements for the first application variant of the second application 34 Requirements for the second application variant of the second application 35 Third Application 36. The first application variant of the third application 37. Second application variant of the third application 38 Requirements for the first application variant of the third application 39 Requirements for the second application variant of the third application 40. Priority of the first application 41. The highest priority of the first application 42. The second highest priority of the first application 50. Priority of the second application 51. The highest priority of the second application 52. The second highest priority of the second application. 60. Priority of the third application 61 The highest priority of the third application 62 The second highest priority of the third application 70 Third communication connection 71 Internet 72 Fourth Communication Connection

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for connecting a first computer (2) and a second computer (3) via a first communication connection (4) and / or a second communication connection (5), in, The first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) enable the connection between the first computer (2) and the second computer (3). The first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) each have at least one first connection feature (11). At least one application (20) is executed on the first computer (2). The first application (20) has at least two application variants (21, 22) that have different requirements for the first connection feature (11). Among them, the application variants (21, 22) have a priority order (40). The method comprises the following steps: a) Select (7) the application variant (21, 22) with the highest priority (41). b) Check whether the requirements of the application variant (21, 22) selected in (8) are met by one of the communication connections (4, 5). c) If the requirements of the selected application variant (21, 22) are not met by the communication connection (4, 5), then select the application variant (21, 22) with the second lowest priority (42) (9), and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect (10) the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) via the first communication connection (4) and / or the second communication connection (5) such that the requirements of the selected application variant (21, 22) for the first connection feature (11) are met.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) have different connection characteristics (11, 12).

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The first connection feature (21) comes from one of the following categories: ·Delay, • Shaking ·bandwidth, • Availability, and ·cost.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The first connection characteristic (21) is determined automatically.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) each have at least two connection characteristics (11, 12), and at least one application variant (21, 22) has at least two requirements for different connection characteristics (11, 12).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, At least one second application (30) is executed on the first computer (2). The second application (30) has at least one application variant (31) that requires the first connection feature (11). The requirements of the second application (30) are combined with the requirements of application variants (21, 22) of the first application (20) to form a combination of application variants with priority and requirements for the first connection feature (11). Among them, steps a) to d) (7, 8, 9, 10) are performed for the combined application variant.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second application (30) has at least two application variants (31, 32) that require the first connectivity feature (11). The requirements of application variants (31, 32) of the second application (30) are combined with the requirements of application variants (21, 22) of the first application (20) to form a combination of application variants with priority and requirements for the first connection feature (11). Among them, steps a) to d) (7, 8, 9, 10) are performed for the combination of the application variants.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The priority of the combination of application variants is calculated from the priority (50) of the application variant (31) of the second application (30) and the priority (40) of the application variants (21, 22) of the first application (20).

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The combined communication connection uses the first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5), and the connection characteristics of the combined communication connection are calculated from the connection characteristics (11, 12) of the first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5). The combined communication connection is processed in the same way as the first communication connection or the second communication connection.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, A third application (35) is executed on the second computer (3), wherein the third application (35) has at least two application variants (36, 37) that have different requirements for the first connection feature (11), wherein the requirements of the application variants (36, 37) of the third application (35) are combined with the requirements of the application variants (21, 22) of the first application (20) to form a combination of application variants with priority and connection requirements, wherein steps a) to d) (7, 8, 9, 10) are performed for the combination of application variants.

11. A connection device (6) for connecting a first computer (2) and a second computer (3) via a first communication connection (4) and / or a second communication connection (5). in, The connecting device (6) is connected to the first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5). The connection device (6) is provided and configured to receive requests for the first connection feature (11) from at least one first connection feature (11) of the communication connection (4, 5) and from at least two application variants (21, 22) of the first application (20) having a priority order (40). The connecting device (6) is provided and configured to perform the following steps: a) Select (7) the application variant with the highest priority. b) Check whether the requirements of the selected application variant in (8) are met by one of the communication connections. c) If the requirements of the selected application variant are not met by the communication connection, then select (9) the application variant with the second lowest priority, and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect (10) the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) via the first communication connection (4) and / or the second communication connection (5) such that the requirements of the selected application variant (21, 22) for the first connection feature (11) are met.

12. A system (1) comprising a first computer (2), a second computer (3), a first communication connection (4), a second communication connection (5), and a connection device (6). in, The first computer (2) and the second computer (3) can be connected to each other via communication connections (4, 5), respectively. The connection device (6) is provided and configured to establish a connection between the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) via the first communication connection (4) and / or the second communication connection (5). The first communication connection (4) and the second communication connection (5) each have at least one first connection feature (11). The first computer (2) is provided and configured to execute at least one application (21). Among them, the first application (20) has at least two application variants (21, 22) that have different requirements (??) for the first connection feature (11). Among them, the application variants (21, 22) have a priority order (40). The connecting device (6) is provided and configured to perform the following steps: a) Select (7) the application variant (21, 22) with the highest priority (41). b) Check whether the requirements of the application variant (21, 22) selected in (8) are met by one of the communication connections (5, 6). c) If the requirements (??) of the selected application variants (21, 22) are not met by the communication connection (4, 5), then select (9) the application variants (21, 22) with the second lowest priority (42), and repeat the method from step b). d) Connect (10) the first computer (2) and the second computer (3) via the first communication connection (4) and / or the second communication connection (5) such that the requirements of the selected application variant (21, 22) for the first connection feature (11) are met.

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